was based on the concept of panoramic enclosures, developed by Karl Hagenbeck in Hamburg. A part of the zoo's area was landscaped panoramically, with dry moats and paths between individual grassed exhibits not visible to the spectator. Visitors thus have the illusion of animals of many different species inhabiting one common exhibit. The main part of Vágner's concept was the "Safari", a 30-hectare area with visitors driving in their cars among free-roaming animals. This stage of the zoo's development was completed six years after Vágner retired in 1983. Specially adapted buses were introduced instead of private cars. Privatisation controversy Vágner was criticised for his attempt to privatise the zoo through a company he had established with other family members. He submitted the privatisation plan in the mid-1990s, when financial problems threatened the viability of the zoo. As a result of a 1990 structural reform in Czechoslovakia, the zoo was allocated to a sub-regional budget, to which it presented a significant burden. Vágner claimed his privatisation offer was a solution to the problem. However, his offer was not accepted, and was strongly opposed by the management of the zoo. International work Throughout his life, Josef Vágner worked in many countries in Africa and Asia, including Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanganyika, Uganda, Zambia, India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Apart from transforming Dvůr Králové Zoo into a world-class breeding and research facility, Vágner participated in many other ventures. He was involved in the development of Košice Zoo in Slovakia, prepared a settlement plan of the left bank of Tana River for the Kenyan government, and created an Indian Rhino conservation scheme for India's Assam region. Honours Vágner was awarded professional and scientific achievement prizes by the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (G. J. Mendel Silver Plaque), University of Life Sciences in Prague and the Veterinary University in Brno. He was a life member of the East African Wild Life Society. In 1999, Vágner was awarded honorary citizenship of Dvůr Králové nad Labem. At Plzeň Zoo, an exhibit presenting African nocturnal animals was dedicated to him. Publications Vágner was also an author, whose works have been translated into seven languages, and also published internationally. Vágner was the author and co-author of nearly fifty research papers, as well as a similar number of popular articles, and appeared often on TV and radio. Outside Czechoslovakia Vágner gave public speeches and lectures in Austria,